Economy
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Jobless Rate Dips to Lowest Level in More Than 2 Years - NYTimes.com
In the midst of the , lingering instability in the oil-rich Middle East and concerns about a Chinese economic slowdown, the American unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped last month to 8.6 percent, its lowest level in two and a half years. The Labor Department also said that the nation’s employers added 120,000 jobs in November and that job growth for the previous two months was better than initially reported. That looks like good news for President Obama as he heads into the 2012 presidential election — especially since just a few months ago the picture looked bleak. “If you go back to August, all sorts of people were telling us that the economy was headed straight into ,” said Paul Ashworth, senior United States economist at Capital Economics. “Since that point, we’ve become more and more worried about the euro zone and other areas of the global economy, but somehow, at least for the moment, the U.S. economy seems to be shrugging all that off.”Stock Market News — 6 Small-Cap Stocks That May Rise Up to 82 Percent — CNBC.com Stock Blog - CNBC
A handful of small- and mid-cap industrial stocks may rise as much as 82 percent in the next year, S&P Capital IQ analysts predict. They say the companies' sales growth will accelerate because of demand from fast-growing emerging markets and a recovery at home in the U.S. The ratings firm also said in its research report released this week that the six firms it recommends will gain operating leverage, translating into bigger profits. As revenue rises, it will trickle down to earnings faster because of aggressive cost-cutting initiatives taken during the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009.
Denmark has the highest rate of income tax for a person earning $100,000, according to an annual survey of effective tax rates by KPMG, an accounting firm. But employee social-security contributions in Denmark are only 0.2%. Once such contributions are taken into account, high earners in several countries, including Belgium, Greece, Germany and France, take home even less than the Danes. Belgium’s government grabs the most from earnings of $100,000: almost 48%. Between 2003 and 2009, the trend was for tax rates on high incomes to decline.
Effective tax rates | The Economist
Econ 101: September 30, 2011 | ThinkProgress
Welcome to ThinkProgress Economy’s morning link roundup. This is what we’re reading. Have you seen any interesting news? Let us know in the comments section. You can also follow ThinkProgress Economy on Twitter . New York City labor unions have voted to back ongoing protests on Wall Street, in a move that could ‘send thousands more people into the streets.” [ Huffington Post ]NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Federal Reserve issued a slightly better outlook on the economy Wednesday, but cut its economic growth forecast for the year overall. Following a two-day policy meeting, the central bank voted 9-to-1 to make no changes to the Fed's ongoing stimulus program, and maintain its pledge to keep interest rates at record lows "at least through mid-2013." The Fed has held rates near zero since December 2008. "Economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year," the Fed said in its statement.
Federal Reserve perks up on the economy - Nov. 2, 2011
CNNMoney.com is tracking developments in the economic rescue as they happen.
Follow the money: Bailout tracker - CNNMoney.com
THE paths crossing the hills and valleys of Derbyshire were worn deep by the passage of millions of feet, as villagers tramped to and from the mills that once dotted the countryside. The equivalent route today is from the cavernous platforms of Canary Wharf Tube station—where, during rush hour, crowded trains disgorge throngs of bankers every few minutes—to the trading rooms above. London’s financial sector may contribute only a few percentage points of Britain’s total economic output, but it defines the country, and its sense of prosperity, in much the same way that cotton mills and trading ships once did.
Bank reform: To rip asunder | The Economist
US and Europe risk double-dip recession, warns IMF | Business | guardian.co.uk
A protest on Wall Street. Confidence has fallen and the risks are on the downside, the IMF said in its half-yearly report. Photograph: Keystone/Rex Features
The euro zone debt crisis took another dramatic turn Tuesday as thousands of Italians hit the streets in a general strike , protesting a new round of austerity measures. Europe's woes continue to rile global investors. The Swiss National Bank surprised the markets by setting an exchange rate cap on the soaring franc, which investors have been flocking to as a safe-haven currency. European stock markets, meanwhile, hit their lowest point in two years Tuesday .